11 ms·

How I stay motivated as a solo creator

299 points by HermanMartinus 3y ago

nuancebydefault 3y ago
> I'm not on traditional social media so don't have that eating away at my attention, but Hacker News is pretty good at derailing my day. How relatable! " - Coffee and a walk with my partner - Gym for about an hour - Journal and write - Work block 1 (about 3 hours) - Lunch and chill - Work block 2 (also about 3 hours) " That looks fantastic!
- quickthrower2 3y ago
  With kids: vague set of goals; expect chaos! Some must haves such as getting dressed and coffee
- raincole 3y ago
  Swap work block to writer block and it describes my typical Saturday.
whartung 3y ago
First, I'm easily distracted. But, the real issue in working on something, for myself, that is engaging, and pushing back the "WTH are you wasting time on this for?". It's all very fleeting. It's not like I have some other burning passion to work on instead, some "if you do this you'll make lots of money instead of those toys you make thing". I don't. But, especially being older, it can be a trick at times to persevere, not say "F it" and fire up "distraction du jour" (HN, YT, video game, etc.). My recent project, that I actually released, documentation, cross platform installers, and everything, took a year of calendar time (but not a year of effort, it was idle for some months). It felt good to get it out, put it in the hand of other (I think only one person has actually used it). But, that actually doesn't deter me (sure, I'd like folks to use things, that's why I finished the project to make it, ideally, easy to pick up). But, still, there are those times when that hopelessness of "why bother" creeps in and takes the wind out of my sails.
- jddj 3y ago
  I'm sure you've already heard/read it said a bunch of times, but you shipped a thing out there. The vast majority of people/projects don't. You probably actually enjoyed it too, just not the whole time. That's fine, that's the treadmill.
- packetlost 3y ago
  Same boat here. I've yet to find something that I feel warrants full attention. It's sort of opposite to the common SV "throw shit at the wall and see what sticks" attitude. Maybe I'm just too distractable and pessimistic.
  - ChrisMarshallNY 3y ago
    I have a very definite demographic that I understand very well (being in it, myself), and write software to Serve it. Problem is, no money. I don’t mind, really. But I treat every one of my free, open-source (or proprietary) projects as if I am delivering for a Fortune 50 corporation. Lots of boring bits, but the results speak for themselves. There was a Show HN, some time ago, where someone made a Web site that cataloged existing markets, with insufficient software. It was a good idea, but not for me. I like to be heavily invested in the use cases for my work.
    - hyling 3y ago
      I'd love to find that Show HN post. Any help would be much appreciated. I've search for it using a variety of keywords but still can't find it.
      - ChrisMarshallNY 3y ago
        Well, my C. R. S. is kicking in, so I can't remember that well, but the gist was that it scanned ratings sites. I'm not sure if it was just app stores, or also included things like Amazon. It looked for products with a lot of ratings and mediocre levels, which indicated a market that wasn't being satisfied. The middle of the bell curve would be an app that had 10,000 3-star ratings. This excluded products being "hate-bombed," and ones being "gamed." It suggested using the list as a starting point for finding poorly-served markets. It was fairly clever.
thewizardofaus 3y ago
A crucial point the post misses is the distinction between motivation and discipline. Ultimately it's easy to work on things when they are fun and exciting; but motivation will only last for so long... once that happens it's the discipline that needs to take over for you to keep progressing forward.
- c7DJTLrn 3y ago
  Motivation and discipline can also move together. If you're motivated over a long enough period of time, discipline can form automatically.
- gagege 3y ago
  I can have discipline, if I'm doing something for a purpose. Losing weight, getting a job, etc. My problem I always lose what the purpose of my solo project is. Or, I shoot so many holes in my own idea that I can't imagine it being useful to anyone.
  - quickthrower2 3y ago
    I do this too. And the flipside is many audiences dont care about the idea or do but find one problem and churn off. So external feedback is hard. tricky one to solve. scratching your own itch can keep you motivated but doesn’t answer the demand question. The other way is to go full mom test and just do full time market research and product hat for months and only then build.
  - michaelteter 3y ago
    So get an accountability "partner" - perhaps another person who is doing their own thing and having the same challenges you're having. Or do the public progress showmanship thing (recurring blog or vlog posts about your project and the current status). I admire the people that go this route, but it frankly scares me since we're talking here on a forum of talented people, some of whom could just hear the project idea and probably get it built faster. So sharing seems to create a lot of risk.
    - 3y ago
hermitcrab 3y ago
Been working on my own, writing software since 2005. Currently having a bit of a motivation slump. But I'm sure I'll push through, the same as I've pushed through all the previous ones.
tomaszs 3y ago
Nothing motivates more than empty bank account. It's beyond imagination how much person is able than do in 8 hours
- bjornsing 3y ago
  A dwindling bank account perhaps. Once it’s really empty I think most people would have a hard time working on long term projects.
dmitrybrant 3y ago
> I stay active on a Slack community of devs and creators in my country, as well as go to meet-ups and events in interesting communities How does one find these supposed Slack groups and meetups? I live in a major metropolitan area, but the meetups I've been able to find have been underwhelming.
- Aeolun 3y ago
  In the absence of any good ones you start one?
  - langsoul-com 3y ago
    Joining and starting a meetup are two completely different things. Joining is low effort, you just need to rock up. Starting one now needs venues, advertising (as in posting the event, updates) and other work like things.
- dv35z 3y ago
  Check out if a university near you has a startup incubator / entrepreneurship program. They often have events, probably socialized most on their Instagram account. From expert talks, to hackathons - go to the next event. While there, tell the organizer what type of community you’re looking for, and ask if there is a group chat. For example, I’m in a city, and there are at least 2 or 3 very active WhatsApp groups - a mix of tech devs, creative entrepreneurs (one of those groups has 800+ members). Every day - there are 2-3 events posted, talks, seminars, workshops, code jams, pitch workshops, digital marketing how-tos. Idea: Co--working spaces often have a formal or informal group chat (often WhatsApp). You could take a tour and ask around. Business incubators - Business incubators, often have a Slack channel (with channels like #dev, #design, #3d-printing). They often have a networking site where you can book free office hours with vetted experts / founders / engineers / executives / angel investors). The one I participate in has a Slack group containing 2,800 creative entrepreneurs, founders, investors, etc. At the co-working space, they host events, social mixers, etc. You’ll aways find some interesting people there. Find the group chat, get on it. Eventually you’ll get “dragged” into an interesting social group of startup / entrepreneurship / growth minded people. I jokingly say dragged, but what I mean is - if you go to an interesting talk on CNC routers, you’ll likely meet someone interesting there, they’ll tell you about a cool upcoming event, you book it - over time, you’re just spending more time per week with interesting people. I know you just asked about WhatsApp groups, but I wanted to just share some of what I’ve learned, within 1 year of moving to a new city.
dtran 3y ago
>Working solo has its difficulties. For one, my income is somewhat tied to my productivity, and my productivity highly correlates to my state of mind. Since going back to being primarily a maker after organizing my days around being a manager[1], and being an avid runner, I've redefined my relationship with "motivation" in a way that can be summed up succinctly by author Brad Stulberg: "You don't need to feel good to get going. You need to get going to feel good." I know that I am long-term very motivated, but day to day or hour to hour, "motivation" is a tricky word, because my energy and creativity waxes/wanes. Agree with the author that structure is the most important thing for me to work around this. Even though makers dream of an open schedule, on the days where I'm off my usual routine, it's really tough to prioritize all the many things always on my plate. It's even tougher trying to decide to peel myself away from work to go for a run that I know will help me focus better after. Making the decision can be emotionally and mentally taxing, whereas if I rely on the default that I just go out for a run as soon as I wake up, the rest of the day just flows from that without the decision fatigue. Time-blocking or even just very simple structure like the OP has has been really effective for me. This includes a hard stop time each day even if it feels like I'm on a roll— my younger self would often borrow against my future energy, and that seemed to rarely work out in the medium-to-long term. > This is combined with a lack of co-workers. Comrades in the trenches, if you will. And finally there's the ability to not do anything, which can be quite nebulous and dangerous if not managed. For anyone who is a solo-creator struggling with this, "body-doubling" is a term from the ADHD/neurodivergent community that simply means "doing a task in the presence of another person". Surprisingly, they don't have to be working on the same task to help you feel like you have "comrades in the trenches". If you're interested, check out Flow Club in my bio. [1] http://www.paulgraham.com/makersschedule.html http://www.paulgraham.com/makersschedule.html
- mentalpiracy 3y ago
  thanks for this.
- sph 3y ago
  Good advice. Re: body doubling, I think I would benefit a lot from that, but I hate having a webcam turned on all day with strangers. Or even a microphone. I feel these body doubling apps focus too much on neurodivergent extroverts, and it's a damn shame. Honestly, if I need strangers around, I'd rather work in a coffee shop, but ideally I just want something no more intrusive than an IRC chat to shoot the shit while the code is compiling. Still crossing my fingers for body doubling that less intrusive.
chiefalchemist 3y ago
> For one, my income is somewhat tied to my productivity, and my productivity highly correlates to my state of mind. What it highly correlates to is your health - mental and physical. I have a friend / colleague who is a successful creator. YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok. He does well. But the stress is endless. Being solo, pardon the cliche, but he's like a rat in the social media platforms' wheel. There's no room for error (i.e., getting sick). Even his "vacations" are driven by what content he can create. The wheel never stops. From time to time we chat about his "business model". To me it's not sustainable, or it is until it isn't, and then the bottom comes up fast. I've suggested he start to think of himself less as a recording artist and more as the record label. That is., to somehow try to figure out how to be less dependent on being the only rat running (for dear life) in the wheel. He agrees. But in no time at all, he's gotta get back on the wheel. There's no exit other than to shut down, which is no exit at all. The focus is admirable. But it can also be blinding, and perhaps eventually unhealthy. For as successful as he is, I wouldn't trade places with him.
- iquatemb 3y ago
  A youtuber I follow took a week off recently after several years and apologized a lot for it, even though his followers encouraged him to do it. He was frightened about loosing his user base
  - chiefalchemist 3y ago
    They might say that but it's more about the revenue. Certainly the overseers at YouTube, etc tune the algorithm to " encourage" a steady stream of content. When, for example, the YT'er you follow steps away, the platform has to have some idea that traffic (read: revenue) to the platform will also dip. Sure, some followers will consume other content. But if the content creator was your initial "gateway" to engagement and that isn't there then you might not engage the platform at all. The platforms know this and make it far too difficult for the CCs to say "No, I need a break." Sadly, the rest of us fellow proles are the key enablers of this paradigm.
earksiinni 3y ago
Solo creator/dev/preneur here, too. OP mentioned a Slack channel for creators in his country. I've been looking for a similar channel. I'm in Arizona in the US. Anyone know of any similar channels that I could join?
- robertritz 3y ago
  I'm also interested but I'm not in the US (but American). I've found a few groups where I used to live in the US but they cater to local people.
- mtmail 3y ago
  https://microconf.com/connect https://microconf.com/connect
greybeardednyc 3y ago
How do you generate enough income to survive?
- pcdoodle 3y ago
  Multiple streams of income / selling your skills until you can work exclusively on what you want. Lowering overhead helps too: Learning to love what you have and another thing i learned on HN: for everything you buy, you buy it twice.
  - rrishi 3y ago
    > for everything you buy, you buy it twice. I didn't understand what you meant by that? Care to elaborate?
    - pcdoodle 3y ago
      The simplest way it was put was like this: you buy a book and pay the initial price. Then you pay with your time to read it. Simplified but gives you an idea because everything we bring in, needs something else from you at some point in the future.
greybeardednyc 3y ago
How do you generate income - income enough to survive? - rifd 1/23 after 13 yrs - 25 yrs exp
- thinkpad13 3y ago
  what is the second line mean?
bgoldste 3y ago
Hard earned and useful wisdom here, thanks for sharing.
6stringmerc 3y ago
I do not approve of the use of the term “creator” here when they may believe they are creating but they are actually working inside a box (machine) or job parameter which inherently is derivative. As in, I can whistle a song I created on the guitar because I pull it out of thin air - can he do the same with his “creation” as it were? Stay in your lane.
- mtrpcic 3y ago
  Let's not gate keep the word "creator". Writing new software is just as much "creating" as whistling a tune, writing a song, drawing a new piece of art, painting a miniature, carving a stone, or anything else. Something exists now that didn't exist before. It has been created.
  - SoftTalker 3y ago
    I think most of the time "maker" is a better word but it's a quibble.
- rfrey 3y ago
  It's unclear to me precisely what your definition of creator is, but it seems like one nobody else shares. It has to be something made without constraints? Or something that can be effortlessly reproduced later? Or something that is 100% non-derivative? Do you really believe the songs you write on the guitar are non derivative?
  - svnt 3y ago
    It seems parent’s difference is work-for-hire with a business function and defined deliverable is not creator work. Where do you think the line is? It seems obvious to me that an artist is a creator. If a person is stitching together Wordpress sites for someone else’s content are they a creator? A configurator? If a person is creating excel spreadsheets are they a creator? What about if they are just tallying numbers on a calculator? What about if they are just counting inventory?
Scubabear68 3y ago
I think it’s interesting that the author has the following mindset about non-solo jobs: “You're going to work. The choice has been made. The structure around that work, and the underlying purpose are set by others and you just need to make it happen”. This is not always the case. For example, I work in a midsized consulting firm at a fairly senior level. While I have a line manager, he’s only there to give me corporate news and policy. He not only doesn’t tell me what to do, he often doesn’t know what I’m doing. What happens is there are a pool of account executives who I have grown to know over the years. We talk regularly, and if there is something I could work on (pre-sales or a project), we talk and figure if I’m a good fit and have bandwidth. Unless I have almost no work I can be choosy about what to work on. Yes, clients and the account guys can mold my deliverables, but I have a lot of sway in that as well. This also lets me figure out my own hours, within constraints if engagements of course. Since I have kids in school, this gives me great flexibility to schedule work around family, instead of vice-versus. So while what the author describes as regular jobs may be common, it is not the only model.
- k1ns 3y ago
  It may not be your boss/manager setting it, but your work structure is still being dictated by others (e.g. "within constraints if engagements of course"). You can put this to the test by just ceasing all work on your current projects, without telling anyone, and seeing what happens.
  - Scubabear68 3y ago
    This is true. But it’s not command and control the way the author indicated, either. And the aspect of choice matters a great deal. The ability to say “no” to an engagement is very empowering.
- ttymck 3y ago
  This is really enticing. Any chance you've written more about your career path somewhere? Or any other reading you would suggest to get a better sense of the work you do and how to seek it out?
dimmke 3y ago
I relate to this so hard. It can be really, really tough building software by yourself. I am planning on launching a much reduced version of something I have been working on soon just to get it out the door so I can iterate on it. Luckily I have a somewhat close friend who is doing the same thing who I can talk to about it. Having a schedule helps, but sometimes I just sit down with the best of intentions, get brain fog and say fuck it and lose a day. One of my best "tricks" is if I feel like I am facing a wall on something, to work on a different task, even perhaps a non coding one that I know I have to get done at some point.
gavinhoward 3y ago
Also a solo creator. I'm not making money from it, but I would like to eventually. My motivation is two-fold: 1. I am a perfectionist and can't leave things undone. 2. My creation work is my sanity preservation against my actual obligations. Needless to say, my motivations won't apply to 99% of people. Everyone is going to be different. Find your motivations, but don't assume they'll be the same as some viral blogger.
- all2 3y ago
  What are your major road blocks to making money right now?
  - gavinhoward 3y ago
    My software isn't done because I'm a perfectionist. :) When it is done (and I've gotten to the point where it's only months away), the roadblock will be my inability to make a sale.
    - michaelteter 3y ago
      You know what they say: Software is never finished; you just stop working on it at some point.
      - gavinhoward 3y ago
        Yeah, very true. I had to set firm maximum targets of functionality.
    - hermitcrab 3y ago
      I wrote this for people like you. ;0) https://successfulsoftware.net/2007/08/07/if-you-arent-embarrassed-by-v10-you-didnt-release-it-early-enough/ https://successfulsoftware.net/2007/08/07/if-you-arent-embar...
      - gavinhoward 3y ago
KennyBlanken 3y ago
I can't remember who said it recently during the SAG strike - but they're fed up with being called a "creator"; the corporate-invented term is tiresome, non-descriptive, and feels devaluing - emphasizing their output, not their craft or them as a person. https://theaggie.org/2020/10/23/for-the-love-of-god-stop-calling-me-a-content-creator-im-not-at-all-content/ https://theaggie.org/2020/10/23/for-the-love-of-god-stop-cal... https://www.reddit.com/r/unpopularopinion/comments/14sqoig/the_term_content_creator_is_dumb_and_we_should/ https://www.reddit.com/r/unpopularopinion/comments/14sqoig/t... https://braindoggies.medium.com/i-hate-being-a-content-creator-237a3b250d06 https://braindoggies.medium.com/i-hate-being-a-content-creat...
smith-kyle 3y ago
I like the idea of meeting others in my field. Any tips for finding this in SF? I'm building a dev tool
camhart 3y ago
Best way to stay motivated is to ship often and regularly, and get feedback from (potential) customers as often as possible. You can be the customer, which helps. But other customers, ideally paying customers, is motivating assuming you have a goal of making some money.
michaelteter 3y ago
I absolutely love being a solo developer when I have the right client/gig. Unfortunately, finding those opportunities can be difficult. I enjoy the cyclical development pattern where I spend a LOT of time - not quite gamedev crunch time, but occasionally close - building the first main production iteration. Then I get to relax a little and balance adding features and reducing debt. And finally I reach a maintenance and support phase which typically requires very little time and effort. That last phase is when you'll find me traveling, "living the good life". But even during the early intensive phases, having the freedom and authority to decide what tools to use, where to physically work from, and even what time of day to work is of such value that the heavy workload is less painful than big company in-office alternative scenarios. As for routine, exercise is indeed a big benefit and contributor toward success. Some office work situations have good workout opportunities, but many do not. And if the daily commute takes a lot of time, then exercise is one of the things that tends to get cut or squeezed down to a level where it doesn't provide much benefit.
mentos 3y ago
After 10 years remote I’ve rented an office space to force myself to go in to work. If I don’t go then it feels like I’m wasting money. If I go and don’t work it feels like I’m wasting money. So far I’ve gone almost every day for the last 4 months and worked hard to justify the expense. I’ve done my best work because of it. Would recommend giving it a try.
- iterateAutomate 3y ago
  ^ This was important for me. I think it may have something to do with the separation of environments from bedroom-office (primed for resting) and an actual workspace (productive space).
ThinkBeat 3y ago
To pay the bills, food in the fridge, kids: school, food clothes, organized activite s gas / electric for the car (if you need one) your software subscriptions (if any). Health insurance (if one is needed where you live). Pay taxes and so on.
- marginalia_nu 3y ago
  I think this makes more sense as a wagie. If you're doing solo work, it's fairly often you make huge lumps of money, and then nothing for months on end; or you're making money passively through existing accounts that use a service you're running that doesn't require much daily upkeep, etc. There is not such a clear relationship between putting in work and making money in the same way showing up at a job has. The effect of slacking off may not manifest until a year later when you didn't land a new client or didn't get an investment.
  - ThinkBeat 3y ago
    No matter how you decide to make an income, your primary motivation will be to have money so you can eat, feed your family, and have a place to live. etc. If the person is already independently wealthy than that person has those needs covered already. A solo creator can be a musician or art painter, or web developer. Quite often they are not independently wealthy (yet) and most never are.
raffraffraff 3y ago
My wife hit upon something that might be interesting to anyone reading this. I don't think any of the comments here directly put their finger upon it. Some possibly unimportant background: my wife used to suffer from depression, but in the last 10 years that has subsided, mostly through self-guided philosophy and practical stuff. What remains is social anxiety and a life-long history of avoiding working for/with people. For reasons I won't go into she has a huge problem with authority figures, so early jobs with unfair or idiotic bosses lasted a "tableflip" amount of time. She's run a solo business for most of her adult life "to avoid dealing with people". The double-irony is: 1. There's almost no such thing as "working alone". A successful business requires interaction, and if you're solo, you need to do all of it. 2. She realized that without having to do something for someone she has zero motivation to do anything at all even though she loves what she actually does. Without a client she thinks "why bother?". As soon as a client contacts her, off she goes like a bee. And even though she consciously realizes this, she has never found a way to trick her brain into doing work for herself. Sometimes I feel like faking a client just so she can work, because once she's going, her work is amazing and she loves what she does. She's even done free/low cost work for cash-strapped clients just so that she can work. So what I'm saying is that she needs her work to matter to someone specific, but it doesn't matter who. I thought she was nuts, but after 20+ years of working for various companies I took a 6 month break from work. I had all sorts of plans for things I'd hack on. I finished nothing, except for the raspberry pi arcade cabinet for my nephews. We all know that startups need to get their product into customer hands. We think that the client's excellent feedback will knock the product into shape. But I think it might just be the fact that you have a customer who needs you to deliver. Having worked for a few early stages startups that had no clients yet, this effect is visible.
- melvinroest 3y ago
  I recognize this. Strongest case in point, when I was still in uni we had a course called "Multimedia Authoring" (whatever that meant). The teacher was amazingly flexible and said something along the lines of "learn whatever you want to learn as long as you create a project out of it." I happened to be a student representative of computer science at the time for high schoolers and their parents. One parent ask "can you make iPhone apps?" I told them "no but I can learn it." He offered me to pay a - at that time - pretty nice amount of money. That was my highest grade for a course ever. I loved the learning process as well!
dominojab 3y ago
[dead]
redbell 3y ago
> When you're working solo, however, there isn't a specific thing you have to do. No pre-set route to take. If I decide to not do any work today, no-one will notice.. I believe the above statement is the single, most common denominator among all indie hackers (or, solopreneurs) and I have to admit that it is too challenging to master and get around it. > I'm not on traditional social media so don't have that eating away at my attention, but Hacker News is pretty good at derailing my day. So is YouTube to a lesser extent. Same here..
mortallywounded 3y ago
I recommend going to some meetups and meeting other solo founders/creators. I recently went to a Microconf meetup (https://microconf.com/ https://microconf.com/) and met 30-40 other solo creators and had a blast.
- thinkpad13 3y ago
  what are the most interested things that you just learn after going to the meetup?
  - mortallywounded 3y ago
    The only thing I learned is there's a lot more people like me in the local community than I thought. Which was good because I went there to meet people, not to learn :)
scotty79 3y ago
Having a routine and being intentional with downtime probably matter the most. You can even do a thing you absolutely hate with that while feeling lonely and not understood. Many people do. It's called a job.
jagged-chisel 3y ago
My biggest problem is that yak shaving kills my motivation. I tend to choose tasks that will teach me something, so I don’t already know what will be entailed in building the thing. I do expect a certain amount of peripheral work, but when those peripheral tasks start getting deep and wide, it starts to feel like my goal is out of reach.

> I'm not on traditional social media so don't have that eating away at my attention, but Hacker News is pretty good at derailing my day. How relatable! " - Coffee and a walk with my partner - Gym for about an hour - Journal and write - Work block 1 (about 3 hours) - Lunch and chill - Work block 2 (also about 3 hours) " That looks fantastic!

quickthrower2 3y ago
With kids: vague set of goals; expect chaos! Some must haves such as getting dressed and coffee
raincole 3y ago
Swap work block to writer block and it describes my typical Saturday.

whartung 3y ago

First, I'm easily distracted. But, the real issue in working on something, for myself, that is engaging, and pushing back the "WTH are you wasting time on this for?". It's all very fleeting. It's not like I have some other burning passion to work on instead, some "if you do this you'll make lots of money instead of those toys you make thing". I don't. But, especially being older, it can be a trick at times to persevere, not say "F it" and fire up "distraction du jour" (HN, YT, video game, etc.). My recent project, that I actually released, documentation, cross platform installers, and everything, took a year of calendar time (but not a year of effort, it was idle for some months). It felt good to get it out, put it in the hand of other (I think only one person has actually used it). But, that actually doesn't deter me (sure, I'd like folks to use things, that's why I finished the project to make it, ideally, easy to pick up). But, still, there are those times when that hopelessness of "why bother" creeps in and takes the wind out of my sails.

jddj 3y ago
I'm sure you've already heard/read it said a bunch of times, but you shipped a thing out there. The vast majority of people/projects don't. You probably actually enjoyed it too, just not the whole time. That's fine, that's the treadmill.
packetlost 3y ago
Same boat here. I've yet to find something that I feel warrants full attention. It's sort of opposite to the common SV "throw shit at the wall and see what sticks" attitude. Maybe I'm just too distractable and pessimistic.
- ChrisMarshallNY 3y ago
  I have a very definite demographic that I understand very well (being in it, myself), and write software to Serve it. Problem is, no money. I don’t mind, really. But I treat every one of my free, open-source (or proprietary) projects as if I am delivering for a Fortune 50 corporation. Lots of boring bits, but the results speak for themselves. There was a Show HN, some time ago, where someone made a Web site that cataloged existing markets, with insufficient software. It was a good idea, but not for me. I like to be heavily invested in the use cases for my work.
  - hyling 3y ago
    I'd love to find that Show HN post. Any help would be much appreciated. I've search for it using a variety of keywords but still can't find it.
    - ChrisMarshallNY 3y ago
      Well, my C. R. S. is kicking in, so I can't remember that well, but the gist was that it scanned ratings sites. I'm not sure if it was just app stores, or also included things like Amazon. It looked for products with a lot of ratings and mediocre levels, which indicated a market that wasn't being satisfied. The middle of the bell curve would be an app that had 10,000 3-star ratings. This excluded products being "hate-bombed," and ones being "gamed." It suggested using the list as a starting point for finding poorly-served markets. It was fairly clever.

thewizardofaus 3y ago

A crucial point the post misses is the distinction between motivation and discipline. Ultimately it's easy to work on things when they are fun and exciting; but motivation will only last for so long... once that happens it's the discipline that needs to take over for you to keep progressing forward.

c7DJTLrn 3y ago
Motivation and discipline can also move together. If you're motivated over a long enough period of time, discipline can form automatically.
gagege 3y ago
I can have discipline, if I'm doing something for a purpose. Losing weight, getting a job, etc. My problem I always lose what the purpose of my solo project is. Or, I shoot so many holes in my own idea that I can't imagine it being useful to anyone.
- quickthrower2 3y ago
  I do this too. And the flipside is many audiences dont care about the idea or do but find one problem and churn off. So external feedback is hard. tricky one to solve. scratching your own itch can keep you motivated but doesn’t answer the demand question. The other way is to go full mom test and just do full time market research and product hat for months and only then build.
- michaelteter 3y ago
  So get an accountability "partner" - perhaps another person who is doing their own thing and having the same challenges you're having. Or do the public progress showmanship thing (recurring blog or vlog posts about your project and the current status). I admire the people that go this route, but it frankly scares me since we're talking here on a forum of talented people, some of whom could just hear the project idea and probably get it built faster. So sharing seems to create a lot of risk.
  - 3y ago

hermitcrab 3y ago

Been working on my own, writing software since 2005. Currently having a bit of a motivation slump. But I'm sure I'll push through, the same as I've pushed through all the previous ones.

tomaszs 3y ago

Nothing motivates more than empty bank account. It's beyond imagination how much person is able than do in 8 hours

bjornsing 3y ago
A dwindling bank account perhaps. Once it’s really empty I think most people would have a hard time working on long term projects.

dmitrybrant 3y ago

> I stay active on a Slack community of devs and creators in my country, as well as go to meet-ups and events in interesting communities How does one find these supposed Slack groups and meetups? I live in a major metropolitan area, but the meetups I've been able to find have been underwhelming.

Aeolun 3y ago
In the absence of any good ones you start one?
- langsoul-com 3y ago
  Joining and starting a meetup are two completely different things. Joining is low effort, you just need to rock up. Starting one now needs venues, advertising (as in posting the event, updates) and other work like things.
dv35z 3y ago
Check out if a university near you has a startup incubator / entrepreneurship program. They often have events, probably socialized most on their Instagram account. From expert talks, to hackathons - go to the next event. While there, tell the organizer what type of community you’re looking for, and ask if there is a group chat. For example, I’m in a city, and there are at least 2 or 3 very active WhatsApp groups - a mix of tech devs, creative entrepreneurs (one of those groups has 800+ members). Every day - there are 2-3 events posted, talks, seminars, workshops, code jams, pitch workshops, digital marketing how-tos. Idea: Co--working spaces often have a formal or informal group chat (often WhatsApp). You could take a tour and ask around. Business incubators - Business incubators, often have a Slack channel (with channels like #dev, #design, #3d-printing). They often have a networking site where you can book free office hours with vetted experts / founders / engineers / executives / angel investors). The one I participate in has a Slack group containing 2,800 creative entrepreneurs, founders, investors, etc. At the co-working space, they host events, social mixers, etc. You’ll aways find some interesting people there. Find the group chat, get on it. Eventually you’ll get “dragged” into an interesting social group of startup / entrepreneurship / growth minded people. I jokingly say dragged, but what I mean is - if you go to an interesting talk on CNC routers, you’ll likely meet someone interesting there, they’ll tell you about a cool upcoming event, you book it - over time, you’re just spending more time per week with interesting people. I know you just asked about WhatsApp groups, but I wanted to just share some of what I’ve learned, within 1 year of moving to a new city.

dtran 3y ago

>Working solo has its difficulties. For one, my income is somewhat tied to my productivity, and my productivity highly correlates to my state of mind. Since going back to being primarily a maker after organizing my days around being a manager[1], and being an avid runner, I've redefined my relationship with "motivation" in a way that can be summed up succinctly by author Brad Stulberg: "You don't need to feel good to get going. You need to get going to feel good." I know that I am long-term very motivated, but day to day or hour to hour, "motivation" is a tricky word, because my energy and creativity waxes/wanes. Agree with the author that structure is the most important thing for me to work around this. Even though makers dream of an open schedule, on the days where I'm off my usual routine, it's really tough to prioritize all the many things always on my plate. It's even tougher trying to decide to peel myself away from work to go for a run that I know will help me focus better after. Making the decision can be emotionally and mentally taxing, whereas if I rely on the default that I just go out for a run as soon as I wake up, the rest of the day just flows from that without the decision fatigue. Time-blocking or even just very simple structure like the OP has has been really effective for me. This includes a hard stop time each day even if it feels like I'm on a roll— my younger self would often borrow against my future energy, and that seemed to rarely work out in the medium-to-long term. > This is combined with a lack of co-workers. Comrades in the trenches, if you will. And finally there's the ability to not do anything, which can be quite nebulous and dangerous if not managed. For anyone who is a solo-creator struggling with this, "body-doubling" is a term from the ADHD/neurodivergent community that simply means "doing a task in the presence of another person". Surprisingly, they don't have to be working on the same task to help you feel like you have "comrades in the trenches". If you're interested, check out Flow Club in my bio. [1] http://www.paulgraham.com/makersschedule.html http://www.paulgraham.com/makersschedule.html

mentalpiracy 3y ago
thanks for this.
sph 3y ago
Good advice. Re: body doubling, I think I would benefit a lot from that, but I hate having a webcam turned on all day with strangers. Or even a microphone. I feel these body doubling apps focus too much on neurodivergent extroverts, and it's a damn shame. Honestly, if I need strangers around, I'd rather work in a coffee shop, but ideally I just want something no more intrusive than an IRC chat to shoot the shit while the code is compiling. Still crossing my fingers for body doubling that less intrusive.

chiefalchemist 3y ago

> For one, my income is somewhat tied to my productivity, and my productivity highly correlates to my state of mind. What it highly correlates to is your health - mental and physical. I have a friend / colleague who is a successful creator. YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok. He does well. But the stress is endless. Being solo, pardon the cliche, but he's like a rat in the social media platforms' wheel. There's no room for error (i.e., getting sick). Even his "vacations" are driven by what content he can create. The wheel never stops. From time to time we chat about his "business model". To me it's not sustainable, or it is until it isn't, and then the bottom comes up fast. I've suggested he start to think of himself less as a recording artist and more as the record label. That is., to somehow try to figure out how to be less dependent on being the only rat running (for dear life) in the wheel. He agrees. But in no time at all, he's gotta get back on the wheel. There's no exit other than to shut down, which is no exit at all. The focus is admirable. But it can also be blinding, and perhaps eventually unhealthy. For as successful as he is, I wouldn't trade places with him.

iquatemb 3y ago
A youtuber I follow took a week off recently after several years and apologized a lot for it, even though his followers encouraged him to do it. He was frightened about loosing his user base
- chiefalchemist 3y ago
  They might say that but it's more about the revenue. Certainly the overseers at YouTube, etc tune the algorithm to " encourage" a steady stream of content. When, for example, the YT'er you follow steps away, the platform has to have some idea that traffic (read: revenue) to the platform will also dip. Sure, some followers will consume other content. But if the content creator was your initial "gateway" to engagement and that isn't there then you might not engage the platform at all. The platforms know this and make it far too difficult for the CCs to say "No, I need a break." Sadly, the rest of us fellow proles are the key enablers of this paradigm.

earksiinni 3y ago

Solo creator/dev/preneur here, too. OP mentioned a Slack channel for creators in his country. I've been looking for a similar channel. I'm in Arizona in the US. Anyone know of any similar channels that I could join?

robertritz 3y ago
I'm also interested but I'm not in the US (but American). I've found a few groups where I used to live in the US but they cater to local people.
mtmail 3y ago
https://microconf.com/connect https://microconf.com/connect

greybeardednyc 3y ago

How do you generate enough income to survive?

pcdoodle 3y ago
Multiple streams of income / selling your skills until you can work exclusively on what you want. Lowering overhead helps too: Learning to love what you have and another thing i learned on HN: for everything you buy, you buy it twice.
- rrishi 3y ago
  > for everything you buy, you buy it twice. I didn't understand what you meant by that? Care to elaborate?
  - pcdoodle 3y ago
    The simplest way it was put was like this: you buy a book and pay the initial price. Then you pay with your time to read it. Simplified but gives you an idea because everything we bring in, needs something else from you at some point in the future.

greybeardednyc 3y ago

How do you generate income - income enough to survive? - rifd 1/23 after 13 yrs - 25 yrs exp

thinkpad13 3y ago
what is the second line mean?

bgoldste 3y ago

Hard earned and useful wisdom here, thanks for sharing.

6stringmerc 3y ago

I do not approve of the use of the term “creator” here when they may believe they are creating but they are actually working inside a box (machine) or job parameter which inherently is derivative. As in, I can whistle a song I created on the guitar because I pull it out of thin air - can he do the same with his “creation” as it were? Stay in your lane.

mtrpcic 3y ago
Let's not gate keep the word "creator". Writing new software is just as much "creating" as whistling a tune, writing a song, drawing a new piece of art, painting a miniature, carving a stone, or anything else. Something exists now that didn't exist before. It has been created.
- SoftTalker 3y ago
  I think most of the time "maker" is a better word but it's a quibble.
rfrey 3y ago
It's unclear to me precisely what your definition of creator is, but it seems like one nobody else shares. It has to be something made without constraints? Or something that can be effortlessly reproduced later? Or something that is 100% non-derivative? Do you really believe the songs you write on the guitar are non derivative?
- svnt 3y ago
  It seems parent’s difference is work-for-hire with a business function and defined deliverable is not creator work. Where do you think the line is? It seems obvious to me that an artist is a creator. If a person is stitching together Wordpress sites for someone else’s content are they a creator? A configurator? If a person is creating excel spreadsheets are they a creator? What about if they are just tallying numbers on a calculator? What about if they are just counting inventory?

Scubabear68 3y ago

I think it’s interesting that the author has the following mindset about non-solo jobs: “You're going to work. The choice has been made. The structure around that work, and the underlying purpose are set by others and you just need to make it happen”. This is not always the case. For example, I work in a midsized consulting firm at a fairly senior level. While I have a line manager, he’s only there to give me corporate news and policy. He not only doesn’t tell me what to do, he often doesn’t know what I’m doing. What happens is there are a pool of account executives who I have grown to know over the years. We talk regularly, and if there is something I could work on (pre-sales or a project), we talk and figure if I’m a good fit and have bandwidth. Unless I have almost no work I can be choosy about what to work on. Yes, clients and the account guys can mold my deliverables, but I have a lot of sway in that as well. This also lets me figure out my own hours, within constraints if engagements of course. Since I have kids in school, this gives me great flexibility to schedule work around family, instead of vice-versus. So while what the author describes as regular jobs may be common, it is not the only model.

k1ns 3y ago
It may not be your boss/manager setting it, but your work structure is still being dictated by others (e.g. "within constraints if engagements of course"). You can put this to the test by just ceasing all work on your current projects, without telling anyone, and seeing what happens.
- Scubabear68 3y ago
  This is true. But it’s not command and control the way the author indicated, either. And the aspect of choice matters a great deal. The ability to say “no” to an engagement is very empowering.
ttymck 3y ago
This is really enticing. Any chance you've written more about your career path somewhere? Or any other reading you would suggest to get a better sense of the work you do and how to seek it out?

dimmke 3y ago

I relate to this so hard. It can be really, really tough building software by yourself. I am planning on launching a much reduced version of something I have been working on soon just to get it out the door so I can iterate on it. Luckily I have a somewhat close friend who is doing the same thing who I can talk to about it. Having a schedule helps, but sometimes I just sit down with the best of intentions, get brain fog and say fuck it and lose a day. One of my best "tricks" is if I feel like I am facing a wall on something, to work on a different task, even perhaps a non coding one that I know I have to get done at some point.

gavinhoward 3y ago

Also a solo creator. I'm not making money from it, but I would like to eventually. My motivation is two-fold: 1. I am a perfectionist and can't leave things undone. 2. My creation work is my sanity preservation against my actual obligations. Needless to say, my motivations won't apply to 99% of people. Everyone is going to be different. Find your motivations, but don't assume they'll be the same as some viral blogger.

all2 3y ago
What are your major road blocks to making money right now?
- gavinhoward 3y ago
  My software isn't done because I'm a perfectionist. :) When it is done (and I've gotten to the point where it's only months away), the roadblock will be my inability to make a sale.
  - michaelteter 3y ago
    You know what they say: Software is never finished; you just stop working on it at some point.
    - gavinhoward 3y ago
      Yeah, very true. I had to set firm maximum targets of functionality.
  - hermitcrab 3y ago
    I wrote this for people like you. ;0) https://successfulsoftware.net/2007/08/07/if-you-arent-embarrassed-by-v10-you-didnt-release-it-early-enough/ https://successfulsoftware.net/2007/08/07/if-you-arent-embar...
    - gavinhoward 3y ago

KennyBlanken 3y ago

I can't remember who said it recently during the SAG strike - but they're fed up with being called a "creator"; the corporate-invented term is tiresome, non-descriptive, and feels devaluing - emphasizing their output, not their craft or them as a person. https://theaggie.org/2020/10/23/for-the-love-of-god-stop-calling-me-a-content-creator-im-not-at-all-content/ https://theaggie.org/2020/10/23/for-the-love-of-god-stop-cal... https://www.reddit.com/r/unpopularopinion/comments/14sqoig/the_term_content_creator_is_dumb_and_we_should/ https://www.reddit.com/r/unpopularopinion/comments/14sqoig/t... https://braindoggies.medium.com/i-hate-being-a-content-creator-237a3b250d06 https://braindoggies.medium.com/i-hate-being-a-content-creat...

smith-kyle 3y ago

I like the idea of meeting others in my field. Any tips for finding this in SF? I'm building a dev tool

camhart 3y ago

Best way to stay motivated is to ship often and regularly, and get feedback from (potential) customers as often as possible. You can be the customer, which helps. But other customers, ideally paying customers, is motivating assuming you have a goal of making some money.

michaelteter 3y ago

I absolutely love being a solo developer when I have the right client/gig. Unfortunately, finding those opportunities can be difficult. I enjoy the cyclical development pattern where I spend a LOT of time - not quite gamedev crunch time, but occasionally close - building the first main production iteration. Then I get to relax a little and balance adding features and reducing debt. And finally I reach a maintenance and support phase which typically requires very little time and effort. That last phase is when you'll find me traveling, "living the good life". But even during the early intensive phases, having the freedom and authority to decide what tools to use, where to physically work from, and even what time of day to work is of such value that the heavy workload is less painful than big company in-office alternative scenarios. As for routine, exercise is indeed a big benefit and contributor toward success. Some office work situations have good workout opportunities, but many do not. And if the daily commute takes a lot of time, then exercise is one of the things that tends to get cut or squeezed down to a level where it doesn't provide much benefit.

mentos 3y ago

After 10 years remote I’ve rented an office space to force myself to go in to work. If I don’t go then it feels like I’m wasting money. If I go and don’t work it feels like I’m wasting money. So far I’ve gone almost every day for the last 4 months and worked hard to justify the expense. I’ve done my best work because of it. Would recommend giving it a try.

iterateAutomate 3y ago
^ This was important for me. I think it may have something to do with the separation of environments from bedroom-office (primed for resting) and an actual workspace (productive space).

ThinkBeat 3y ago

To pay the bills, food in the fridge, kids: school, food clothes, organized activite s gas / electric for the car (if you need one) your software subscriptions (if any). Health insurance (if one is needed where you live). Pay taxes and so on.

marginalia_nu 3y ago
I think this makes more sense as a wagie. If you're doing solo work, it's fairly often you make huge lumps of money, and then nothing for months on end; or you're making money passively through existing accounts that use a service you're running that doesn't require much daily upkeep, etc. There is not such a clear relationship between putting in work and making money in the same way showing up at a job has. The effect of slacking off may not manifest until a year later when you didn't land a new client or didn't get an investment.
- ThinkBeat 3y ago
  No matter how you decide to make an income, your primary motivation will be to have money so you can eat, feed your family, and have a place to live. etc. If the person is already independently wealthy than that person has those needs covered already. A solo creator can be a musician or art painter, or web developer. Quite often they are not independently wealthy (yet) and most never are.

raffraffraff 3y ago

My wife hit upon something that might be interesting to anyone reading this. I don't think any of the comments here directly put their finger upon it. Some possibly unimportant background: my wife used to suffer from depression, but in the last 10 years that has subsided, mostly through self-guided philosophy and practical stuff. What remains is social anxiety and a life-long history of avoiding working for/with people. For reasons I won't go into she has a huge problem with authority figures, so early jobs with unfair or idiotic bosses lasted a "tableflip" amount of time. She's run a solo business for most of her adult life "to avoid dealing with people". The double-irony is: 1. There's almost no such thing as "working alone". A successful business requires interaction, and if you're solo, you need to do all of it. 2. She realized that without having to do something for someone she has zero motivation to do anything at all even though she loves what she actually does. Without a client she thinks "why bother?". As soon as a client contacts her, off she goes like a bee. And even though she consciously realizes this, she has never found a way to trick her brain into doing work for herself. Sometimes I feel like faking a client just so she can work, because once she's going, her work is amazing and she loves what she does. She's even done free/low cost work for cash-strapped clients just so that she can work. So what I'm saying is that she needs her work to matter to someone specific, but it doesn't matter who. I thought she was nuts, but after 20+ years of working for various companies I took a 6 month break from work. I had all sorts of plans for things I'd hack on. I finished nothing, except for the raspberry pi arcade cabinet for my nephews. We all know that startups need to get their product into customer hands. We think that the client's excellent feedback will knock the product into shape. But I think it might just be the fact that you have a customer who needs you to deliver. Having worked for a few early stages startups that had no clients yet, this effect is visible.

melvinroest 3y ago
I recognize this. Strongest case in point, when I was still in uni we had a course called "Multimedia Authoring" (whatever that meant). The teacher was amazingly flexible and said something along the lines of "learn whatever you want to learn as long as you create a project out of it." I happened to be a student representative of computer science at the time for high schoolers and their parents. One parent ask "can you make iPhone apps?" I told them "no but I can learn it." He offered me to pay a - at that time - pretty nice amount of money. That was my highest grade for a course ever. I loved the learning process as well!

dominojab 3y ago

[dead]

redbell 3y ago

> When you're working solo, however, there isn't a specific thing you have to do. No pre-set route to take. If I decide to not do any work today, no-one will notice.. I believe the above statement is the single, most common denominator among all indie hackers (or, solopreneurs) and I have to admit that it is too challenging to master and get around it. > I'm not on traditional social media so don't have that eating away at my attention, but Hacker News is pretty good at derailing my day. So is YouTube to a lesser extent. Same here..

mortallywounded 3y ago

I recommend going to some meetups and meeting other solo founders/creators. I recently went to a Microconf meetup (https://microconf.com/ https://microconf.com/) and met 30-40 other solo creators and had a blast.

thinkpad13 3y ago
what are the most interested things that you just learn after going to the meetup?
- mortallywounded 3y ago
  The only thing I learned is there's a lot more people like me in the local community than I thought. Which was good because I went there to meet people, not to learn :)

scotty79 3y ago

Having a routine and being intentional with downtime probably matter the most. You can even do a thing you absolutely hate with that while feeling lonely and not understood. Many people do. It's called a job.

jagged-chisel 3y ago

My biggest problem is that yak shaving kills my motivation. I tend to choose tasks that will teach me something, so I don’t already know what will be entailed in building the thing. I do expect a certain amount of peripheral work, but when those peripheral tasks start getting deep and wide, it starts to feel like my goal is out of reach.